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Remarks About a Heroin Seizure by Miami Customs Patrol officers.

April 08, 1972

Ladies and gentlemen:

I have just had an opportunity to express my appreciation and the appreciation of the people of the United States to these two Customs officers for what they have accomplished in the seizure yesterday.

Mr. Cascavilla has a background of having served in the U.S. Marine Corps and for 15 years in the Customs Service, and Mr. Torres has been in the Customs Service for only 5 months. The suitcase which they picked up off of an incoming ship had in it heroin, 99 percent pure [90 percent], of a retail value of $5 million.

In checking with Mr. Ambrose,1 the estimate is that this is enough heroin to provide what they call "fixes" for 200,000 individuals. We can see, therefore, the vital importance of what the Customs office is doing in providing for these seizures, and this gives me an opportunity to make two points:

1 Myles J. Ambrose, Special Assistant Attorney General, office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, Department of Justice.

When I was in New York the other day, going down the line at the airport, I saw many passengers who had come in from Europe and other parts of the world. They were standing in long lines, and I am sure they were very impatient. If a passenger has to wait an extra half hour in order to have his baggage searched, whereas he is an absolutely innocent person, if it means that as a result of that time that there is going to be some kind of seizure, as was the case in this instance, which could affect the lives--not just 30 minutes of a life, but the lives--of thousands of young people across this country, then it is all worthwhile. Therefore, we ask for the patience of passengers as we step up and crack down in our search, as Mr. Ambrose has been directed to do.

The other point is a very personal point. Mr. Torres said that he has dedicated his life to this work, because immediately after he became a Customs officer, his cousin, 23 years old, was found dead in the streets of New York from an overdose of heroin. This is an indication that this problem of drug abuse strikes home very close to all of our families, and that men like this, who are working out in the front lines, who spend many tedious hours going through baggage, searching ships, searching planes, finding nothing, and then one day do have a great success like this, deserve the appreciation of the whole Nation.

I would say, finally, that it is rather significant that this occurred on the day that we announced the Hot line---the "Heroin Hot line" 2 through which citizens all over the country can cooperate with Mr. Ambrose and his office. The purpose of this is not to have people send in charges that may reflect on innocent people, but the purpose is to get the information, get the information which Mr. Ambrose and his officers will then use to the very best of their ability to search out the pushers, to search out those who are destroying the lives of people like Mr. Torres' cousin.

2 On April 7, 1972, the President directed the establishment of a nationwide toll-free telephone number to be manned on a 24-hour basis, 7 days a week. The Hot line, a phase of the Drug Abuse Law Enforcement program, was designed to provide citizens a direct line to help the national effort to eliminate heroin trafficking through the contribution of information anonymously.

This, as I have often said, is the most reprehensible crime I can think of. I think, under the circumstances, that every American wants to cooperate--those Americans who come in, with 30 minutes of their time waiting for a Customs officer to go through their baggage, and the baggage of others, and people throughout this country--to cooperate through letting the Government officials know when they have what they believe to be fairly good proof, or very good proof that some kind of activity by law enforcement officials could be effective in leading to the arrest and eventually the conviction of anyone engaged in this illegal traffic.

Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10: 10 a.m. at his residence at Key Biscayne, Fla. He spoke without referring to notes.

Customs Patrol officers Philip J. Cascavilla and Frank Torres, Jr., were on a routine patrol of the Miami seaport when they observed a suitcase being loaded into a vehicle parked on the dock. When the car attempted to leave the dock, it was stopped, and a search of the suitcase revealed 70 plastic bags containing 22 pounds of heroin.

Richard Nixon, Remarks About a Heroin Seizure by Miami Customs Patrol officers. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/254580

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